By CARY CLACK, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, February 27, 2008

SAN ANTONIO -- History is always in a hurry to see and do things that have never before been seen and done. But even in its insatiable quest for uncharted territory, history understands the importance of looking back and preserving the memory and accomplishments of those who gave it momentum.

This fall, for the first time in the American saga, either an African-American or a woman will be on the ballot as one of the two major-party nominees for president. Even the loser of the race for the Democratic nomination between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will have broken new ground and earned a page or two in history books.

But before Hillary and Barack in 2008, there was Shirley in 1972.

Thirty-six years ago, U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm became the first woman and the first black person to seek a major party's presidential nomination.

When she made her announcement on Jan. 25, 1972, she was already a historic figure by virtue of her 1968 election to the House, representing Brooklyn's 12th Congressional District. It was an election that made her the first black woman elected to Congress.

Her campaign slogan, and the title of her first book, was "Unbought and Unbossed," and her sense of who she was became evident when, after being sworn in, she told The Washington Post, "I am an historical person at this point, and I'm very much aware of it."

Chisholm also wasted little time in displaying her outspokenness and fearlessness when she challenged the House's seniority system after being placed on the Agriculture Committee, a slot that did little for her urban district. She demanded reassignment and was given a seat on the Veteran Affairs Committee.

Her independence was reflected in her support of a white congressman, Hale Boggs, for majority leader over John Conyers, who was black.

Chisholm's decision to run for president wasn't met with the celebratory enthusiasm that has showered the campaigns of Clinton and Obama. Shunned by the political establishment, including most of her black male colleagues, Chisholm embarked on a heroic and idealistic campaign of inclusion that showcased her intellect, passion, wit and considerable oratorical skills.

Chisholm was an unabashed liberal who advocated for the rights of women and people of color and was a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War. But the essence of her character was revealed when one of her opponents for the Democratic nomination, race-baiting Alabama Gov. George Wallace, was the victim of an assassination attempt in Maryland, an attack that would leave him paralyzed from the waist down.

Chisholm visited him in the hospital and was criticized in the black community. She says that when Wallace saw her, he asked, "What are your people going to say?" Her answer to him was, "I know what they're going to say. But I wouldn't want what happened to you to happen to anyone." Wallace cried.

In her book "The Good Fight," Chisholm explained why she ran for president. "I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo," she wrote. "The next time a woman runs, or a black, a Jew or anyone from a group that the country is 'not ready' to elect to its highest office, I believe that he or she will be taken seriously from the start."

Chisholm died on New Year's Day 2005 at the age of 80. That year, filmmaker Shola Lynch released a remarkable documentary on her campaign called "Chisholm 72: Unbought and Unbossed." In it, Chisholm says she didn't want to be remembered only for being the first black congresswoman or the first woman and black to seek a major party's presidential nomination.

She said, "I want to be remembered as a woman who fought for change in the 20th century. That's what I want."